Today I finished a project that I started in late July. Harvesting a monster osage tree. This tree fell over a creekbed several years ago. My brother-in-law and Dad helped me cut it and drag it out. After that, I did the rest. Here are a few pics.
The tree
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC13992.jpg)
The rings
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC13996.jpg)
My brother-in-law helping out
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC14004.jpg)
I had to split it into chunks so we could get it out of the creek
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC14025.jpg)
Sections waiting to be split into staves
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC14043.jpg)
My pile of shavings
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/DSCN6531.jpg)
109 staves and 6 billets from one osage tree
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/DSCN6528.jpg)
Holy crap! :scared:
I thought we had some big osage trees around here, but that thing is HUGE! Those should keep you busy for a while!
Man what a haul! Give a yell scrub if you need help getting rid of those things :D
Absolutely fantastic, by the looks of it you could get a few more out of a couple of those.
Um, wow. Something tells me that you can benchpress more than me.
You are the man Clint....
Not only the biggest but the STRAIGHTEST osage iv'e ever seen. Well done!!!
Scott
Wow! What a haul and a bunch of work. Nicely done.
What are you going to do tomorrow? :)
QuoteOriginally posted by Ranger44:
Wow! What a haul and a bunch of work. Nicely done.
What are you going to do tomorrow? :)
Lay on the couch and rest.
Awesome supply of bow wood, great job on the major task.
WOW, good work.
I hate you....I truely do.
WOW your out of control! is that how your arms got so big? :clapper:
That just ain't right. No sir it isn't.
We don't have 1 decent tree in all of Alberta to make a bow from :( and you get 109 osage staves from a single tree.
You are one lucky guy.
Pete
You are one very lucky and determined man. Many of us wish we could get our hands on one or two pieces to make a Osage bow from.
How tall was that tree?? Anybody know where the Grand National Champion Osage tree is?? I'm thinking that one would have at least been in the running...
Rick
I'm not sure how tall it is. I got 4 sections out of it. There is at least 1 more section left in the woods. This tree fell across the property line and my neighbor is real funny about what he allows on his property. I doubt he would want me running a chainsaw on his side of the line. I cut as much as I could without going onto his property.
Well I just shucked three staves today and I can say you are a tough man. I only wish my staves were that straight. I might be able to get motivated for wood that nice. Great find and great job taking advantage of it!
TroutGuide
That tree is one in a milion.....have never seen anything like it. Outstanding!
That is just awesome, I bet I seen a 109 staves today. To bad they were all still in the trees!
How tall was that tree?? Anybody know where the Grand National Champion Osage tree is?? I'm thinking that one would have at least been in the running...
Rick
:scared: There's nothing to say. Good haul.
Holy @#$#!!! That is amazing. You have enough osage for years to come. I am impressed!! :notworthy:
You desreve a break man. I was going to say you got way more time and energy than me, but after I thought about it for a minute I realized i would have done the exact same as you did. No way I could let a tree that size rot away in the woods. Good job man, you need a pat on the back. :clapper:
i cant even put into words what i am thinking right now.what i can say is you have my respect and admiration . a fine example of a "get-r-done" attitude. rv
The focal point of the grounds at Red Hill is the largest and oldest Osage Orange Tree in America. It has a span of ninety feet and stands fifty-four feet high.
Better seal them backs! Nice haul!!
QuoteOriginally posted by Osagetree:
The focal point of the grounds at Red Hill is the largest and oldest Osage Orange Tree in America. It has a span of ninety feet and stands fifty-four feet high.
Better seal them backs! Nice haul!!
I have two coats of polyurethane on them. I am going to put a third coat on soon. Some of the staves are darker because I used some polyurethane that had stain in with it.
GOOD DEAL!!!!
dang thats alot of wood :thumbsup:
The red hill tree was usurped in july by new co-champions: one in new castle, Delaware and another in Alexandria Virginia.
Just found that out while looking for pics of the red hill tree.
Scott
All this talk has me wanting to get some osage for myself. Maybe I can talk the wife into a hike today. If so, I'll sneak my saw into the jeep before we leave. She always takes her camera so I'll try to get some pics if she's not too mad once she finds out why we're really in the woods.
Looking at those pictures makes me want to take a nap. :) Jawge
:biglaugh:
Scrub-buster: Could you guestimate how many hours that took you to get those staves. I think it would be a great picture of hard work and perseverance for some kids I know...
WOW alot of work there. you gonna sell any or make a collection of selfbows?
WOW!! :thumbsup:
Holy smokes! Cutting, splitting, and hauling all that wood is work enough. These are all boned out to boot! Any cartilage left in your elbows?
QuoteOriginally posted by Goose Gossett:
Scrub-buster: Could you guestimate how many hours that took you to get those staves. I think it would be a great picture of hard work and perseverance for some kids I know...
I know I had around 33 hours in drawknifing alone. Add in splitting and all the work it took just to get it out of the woods, I don't know the total, but it's a lot. Heck, that picture with all the staves took an hour of work to set up and take down.
More then incredible Clint, You deserve a standing ovation! :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
AWESOME !
----------
Andy
WOW! What a haul, I need a couple of days of rest just thinking about the work you put into them.....Dan
Lol he started in july....so tell the kids it took him six months. He has been working the wood from ONE TREE FOR SIX MONTHS!!!! And that is just getting it ready to work into bows. He hasn't started the fun stuff yet.
Scott
That's a labor of love right there! Congrats on having a significant stash of quality osage. Few days of hard work and you're into wood for a long time! Awesome find and good on you for putting this down tree to good use!
It was a lot more than a few days of hard work
I am still cleaning up a cherry tree that blew done in hurricane Irene and that i cut up on sept 11 this last year. I will end up with maybe 25 staves and that was a lot, I thought. Great job on saving a downed tree from simple rotting away. There is a lot of energy in trees that are saved and not simply cut down. Let me know if you would be interested inswapping a downed stave.
"A labor of love" comes to mind. Heck of a lot of work but soooooo well worth it. It would have been a crime to let all that great wood just lay there. Why to go! Years of great bow building wood. You are now "bow wood RICH".... :thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by bjansen:
That tree is one in a milion.....have never seen anything like it. Outstanding!
Ditto! We have some huge osage trees around here, but never seen anything like that one nor as straight as that one. I'd say that was the mother of all osage trees in all respects. You should be set for staves for a lifetime unless you sell em all off. I'd hang onto those as long as I possibly could if I were you just so you don't have to go through that again anytime soon.
Having worked up a pile of osage myself I know all too well the intense amount of agonizing back breaking work that goes into it. My shoulders are shot to hell now and can't do that kind of grueling work anymore, so I guarantee you earned every single stave.
BRAVO!! :clapper:
So the big question is....
What do you plan to do with all these staves?
Private stash of future bows, or sell some?
Pete
Pete beat me to it. I was going to ask when you were gonna start selling some, but I just thought about how much time and crazy energy was spent in harvesting such an amazing bounty. There is about a snowball's chance in hell I could afford one of them beauties!
Just seeing all that hustle makes me wanna get a new Stihl...
Sound like you guys ant some!?!?!??
This tree was one in a million. I am lucky enough to live on 75 acres of mostly osage and there isn't another one any where near as good as this tree. I'll keep looking though. I want to keep most of the staves. I will bring some to the Tenn. Classic this spring to trade. If I sell any, I will post them in the Classifieds.
That is pretty cool,
Yep Two Tracks, I was thinkin the very same thing!
I built a hide-a-way rack for most of them. It rolls under my work bench and out of the way.
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC14479.jpg)
(http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/clintanders/SDC14477.jpg)
Osage Outlaw is right... Your set for a long time.
What you did not use osage to make your rolling rack. That is a great Ideal though.
I'm up for adoption.... :biglaugh:
It would look a lot better if I had made it from osage. I used cheap wheels on it and now I'm paying for it. I guess I exceeded the weight limit. They are falling apart. I got some heavy duty ones to put on it. The bad part is I have to unload it to replace them.
If you lived a little closer I'd build you one out of sq. tubing.
It's time I harvedted the giant I found.
I must have missed this post the first time around. What a massive tree and a haul of staves from it. Living in the land of no osage, I had no idea that they could grow that big.
Have you used them all up yet? :)
I only have 3 staves left from it and I'm giving two of them to friends at the Tennessee Classic this year
I missed this thread too. Awesome tree! Simply awesome.
I guess those staves are ok.... :)
I have seen those pictures come up a few times - I am still in "awe"!!
wont be messin with scub in a dark alley-
stay away from any guy who can wrastle a tree like that :scared:
I missed this too. Guess I'm not the only one impressed! Nice job.... :notworthy: